International news

Pro-Russian separatists hold referendum in Ukraine

JamesMarson

PhilipShishkin

AlanCullison

Reuters

A man votes Sunday on the status of Donetsk region in the eastern Ukraine. Rebels pressed ahead with a referendum on self-rule in east Ukraine, and fighting flared anew in a conflict that has raised fears of civil war.

DONETSK, Ukraine—Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine appeared to be on track to declare victory in a referendum Sunday that Kiev and the West say is illegal and riddled with irregularities.

The vote ratchets up tensions between the Kremlin, which may recognize the vote, and the nascent government in Kiev, which is struggling to regain control of the two provinces that it says Moscow is destabilizing through support of rebels.

Heavy turnout suggested that weeks of instability and violence in the region had helped turn simmering anger against Kiev into open defiance and separatism that polls showed barely existed earlier this year.

Separatist leaders said they opened more than 1,500 voting stations across one province alone. In the coastal city of Mariupol, the scene of deadly clashes last week between separatists and Ukrainian soldiers, thousands of people turned out to join lines that stretched for city blocks, with some residents bringing lawn chairs to rest their legs as they waited.

Amid an absence of electoral observers and a heavy presence of separatist gunmen patrolling the streets, the government in Kiev said the results of the vote are certain to be rigged.

One Donetsk electoral official, Mikhail Samolenko, said Sunday there were no real safeguards to keep people from voting several times, but that it didn’t matter “because everyone is voting yes” for independence. Separatists said they may release results as early as this evening.

In Kiev, the government dismissed the voting Sunday as a sham. “Factually speaking, no ‘referendum’ is being held. It is nothing more than an information campaign to cover up crimes,” said presidential administration chief Sergei Pashinsky at a briefing on Sunday.

Nevertheless, separatists are expected to use the vote to declare a de facto divorce from Ukraine. That could lead to a descent into international isolation akin to the Russian-backed breakaway statelets in Moldova and Georgia.

The West accuses Russia of fanning separatism and supporting such breakaway regions to weaken Georgia and Moldova, which were once Soviet satellites. The statelets are also a useful lever for Moscow, which has been able to wield influence in the Moldovan and Georgian governments by dangling the possibility that they may one day regain control over the breakaway regions.

Russia has denied that it is behind the separatist movement Ukraine, although rebels have access to some sophisticated Russian weaponry, including shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles that have shot down Ukrainian helicopters.

Instead Moscow blames Kiev for what it calls the extremist policies of the new government, which came to power hoping to forge closer ties to the European Union. Kremlin-controlled media, beamed into the mostly Russian-speaking regions in eastern Ukraine, refers to the government in Kiev as a junta that is heavily influenced by fascists.

Until recently, the separatists would have little chance of winning a free and fair vote in the region, as polls show a majority wanted close ties to Russia but to remain part of Ukraine. But recent fighting between the government and separatists may have tipped many toward independence, hoping that it might at least lead to some stability.

“Who likes it when a nation shoots at its own people?” asked retiree Natalia Vasileva, who cast her ballot in central Donetsk. “We weren’t against being part of Ukraine, but after the latest events, we’ve changed our minds.”

Indeed, heavy fighting on the streets of Mariupol on Friday appeared to drive many of the residents onto the street to vote on Sunday. The fighting began when militants stormed the local police precinct, and Ukrainian troops stormed the building, interrupting the city’s Victory Day parade to celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany. Unleashing heavy gunfire on residential streets, Ukrainian soldiers eventually withdrew, leaving the precinct a burning wreck, and a handful of locals dead and wounded.

For eastern Ukraine, whose heavy industries are dependent on exports, declaration of independence could thrust it into an international pariah status that would cripple its economy. Barring Crimea-style annexation by Russia, in which Moscow publicly has expressed no interest, the Donetsk People’s Republic could find itself with crimped export markets and unemployment problems.

“This is a step into the abyss for these regions,” he said in comments carried on his website. “Those who favor independence don’t realize it means total destruction of the economy, social programs, even life for most people in these regions.”

He said the government was ready to hold talks with people from the eastern regions, but not those who have committed violence.

The government has said it is working on a decentralization program that would hand more power to the regions to manage local affairs.

But separatist leaders pushed ahead with the referendum anyway. Roman Lyagin, the election chief of the Donetsk People’s Republic, said, “It’s better to live in isolation than under occupations.”

Ukraine’s central government, which has lost control of much of the region, did little to hinder the voting Sunday. For weeks, local police have failed to function as an effective force, and a concerted Ukrainian military operation against a rebel stronghold in the city of Slovyansk has failed to make much headway.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only.
Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.